Half a corned beef sandwich on the left; half a pastrami sandwich on the right. Boomy's New York Deli in July 2014. Photo Credit: Newsday / Joan Reminick

The high point of a recent lunch at Boomy’s New York Deli in Plainview was its pastrami sandwich ($9.99), starring properly peppery and fat-frilled meat.

But the deli, no longer kosher, came up short in several other respects: Flavorless matzo ball soup. A wincingly salty tongue sandwich ($11.49) that tasted mainly of cloves. (Cloves?) And fries ($4.29) previously frozen and characterless.